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Sep 16

Bookish Q & A

Posted on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 in Fandomlinks, Literature

Apparently Nya Reads started this on Booklikes. I thought I’d do it too, here.

1. What is your favorite childhood book?

Oddly enough, I think it was The Wind on the Moon by Eric Linklater, because only a little later I would never read that book, because it was too sad. By then it was probably one of my picture books – one of Elsa Beskow’s classics or one of the international ones. I also liked Astrid Lindgren’s books and Maria Gripe’s.

2. E-books or printed books?

If I have to choose, printed books, but I do enjoy reading e-books too. The problem is, I won’t pay for them, so it’s either going to have to be a library book or one of the ‘internet freebies’. And the problem with the latter is that there are so few that are really good (though over the years I have found several that I really like).

3. What is your favorite place to read?

At home, mainly in bed.

4. Is there any genre you would never read?

Horror, vampire, werewolf and zombie stories (but I do like a good ghost story). I also don’t read anything that’s just romance, but I will read historic romances etc.

5. What’s your review rating system?

I’m not sure I have an actual system – or at least not one I’ve really thought much about. I do tend to give more 5 and 4 stars than 3 and practically never 2 and 1, simply because I don’t like giving a bad review and I also don’t specifically note when I don’t finish a book. I prefer to focus on the books I at least like and forget about the bad ones.

6. What is your favorite fictional character?

That’s a difficult question – picking just one. I have many different characters I like in different genres. I also find it hard to really say if one is a favorite or not, which may sound weird. There are definitely characters I like more than others, but rarely one that I really, really love. I suppose if I have to I can mention Faramir (from the LOTR books, not the movie) and Ged from Ursula K Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea. And many others, but it’s too hard to choose so I’ll stop here.

7. What was the best film adaption of a book?

I think I’ll have to say LOTR, because what else have I seen? I don’t think the Narnia movies were as good, they differed too much from the books. Also, I have yet to see film adaptations of many of very favorite books. Outlander maybe? Though the first season of the series is a bit more gruesome than I remember from the first book. Also, the sex scenes tended to get a bit too much and I didn’t think that when I read the book. Cirkeln too, based on the Swedish book by the same name.

8. How do you chose the next book to read?

I read about them online usually. Both the ‘blurbs’ and reviews.

9. Top 3 authors?

Hm. Also a tough question. Just three?

J R R Tolkien

Agatha Christie

Janet Evanovich

Diana Wynne Jones

Ursula K LeGuin

Charles De Lint

Garth Nix

Gregory Frost

Frances Hardinge

Anthea Sharp

and many more that I found among my ‘internet freebies’

10. Is there any book release you are particularly looking forward to?

I don’t really follow new book releases like that. I have so many books on my TBR read list/online wish list, that I just try to pick my favorites first, never really managing to get round to all of them, unfortunately.

Sep 14

12 Interesting Facts about Dictionaries

Posted on Monday, September 14, 2015 in Links

French dictionaryThis post comprises a dozen of the choicest and most fascinating facts about dictionaries down the ages.

Read more here.

Aug 30

Five Fascinating Facts about Mary Shelley

Posted on Sunday, August 30, 2015 in Links

Mary Shelley

Five facts about the life and work of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.

Read more here.

Jul 4

23 statements about me – meme

Posted on Saturday, July 4, 2015 in My life, Other

I found this meme on two Swedish book blogs.

My name is Camilla, but I often call myself MilliLinnea or Ilirwen.
At the moment, I’m a bit sick.
I’m good at spelling and proofreading, which is good, because that’s actually my job)
I don’t like cruelty to animals, neighbours, bicyclists, mean people in general.
I’m bad at being social (in real life, online it works a bit better).
I’m reading (at the moment – a Swedish historic non-fiction book about an eighteenth century lady, married to the king’s brother).
I like books, history, languages (and also historic tv-series).
I sing (not at all, because I don’t have a good singing voice).
I love my family, including the four-legged kids, and also practically all animals in the world.
I’m not particularly good at doing practical things, unfortunately.
I prefer tea to coffee (but love iced water), the countryside/the woods to urban areas (but like cities better than small towns, usually).
I like tasty vegetables like avocado, kale, zucchini, chocolate and home made bread.
I’m addicted to books, of course. 🙂
I’m wearing a blue long-sleeved t-shirt and blue sweatshirt pants.
I’m drinking – nothing at the moment, but I just had a big glass of ice cold water, because it’s hot outside.
I listen to older music, that is classical (especially baroque music) and a bit older pop and rock (80’s and 90’s).
I get angry at stupidity, especially at how extremely cocky stupid people are, it’s dangerous, see below.
I’m scared of everything bad that’s happening in the world today.
I wish for a better future, for my family and for others.
I’m embarrassingly bad at doing practical things, even pretty simple things, like ironing clothes.
I grew up in West Gothia, Sweden where I’d love to stay, but unfortunately, in a dreadful little town that I’d love to move away from.

I also found a few extras on one of the blogs, and I wanted to add those too.

I’m exceptionally good at – hm – I’m not sure if I am exceptionally good at anything, but like I mention above, I am pretty good at spelling, grammar, proofreading and editing text, and also languages, like English and French.
I like that I dream of big changes for the better, for myself and the world. That is, I dare to dream about getting a fresh start, when I’ve got a bit stuck in life.

Jun 21

Five Fascinating Facts about J. R. R. Tolkien

Posted on Sunday, June 21, 2015 in Links, Literature


Tolkien was born on this day in 1892.

Read more here.

Jun 8

27 Interesting Facts about Words

Posted on Monday, June 8, 2015 in Links

Fun facts about words and the English language

The stuff of literature is, of course, words. As Samuel Taylor Coleridge observed, ‘Prose = words in their best order; – poetry = the best words in the best order.’

Read more here.

May 17

Five Fascinating Facts about Geoffrey Chaucer

Posted on Sunday, May 17, 2015 in Links, Literature

Some fun facts about medieval English poet Geoffrey Chaucer.

Read more here

Apr 3

25 Great Facts about Children’s Books

Posted on Friday, April 3, 2015 in Fandomlinks, Literature

Fascinating trivia about classic children’s books and their authors

Read more here.

Mar 5

30 Interesting Facts about Books

Posted on Thursday, March 5, 2015 in Links, Literature

30 Interesting Facts about Books

30 fun facts about books, in honour of World Book Day 2015.

Read more here.

Feb 19

15 Facts About India That Will Blow Your Mind

Posted on Thursday, February 19, 2015 in Other

15 Facts About India That Will Blow Your Mind

Read more here.

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